before 2005 what rb had the most rushing yds through first 9 seasons

Before 2005, Barry Sanders rushed for the most yards by a running back in his first 9 seasons, with 13,778 yards.

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Regular season

	NAME	RUSH YDS	GP	ATT	YPC	RUSH YDS/G	RUSH TD	REC YDS	REC	TRG	AVG	REC YDS/G	REC TD
1	Barry Sanders B. Sanders	13,778	137	2,719	5.1	100.6	95	2,632	315		8.4	19.2	10
2	Emmitt Smith E. Smith	12,566	140	2,914	4.3	89.8	125	2,609	415		6.3	18.6	9
3	Eric Dickerson E. Dickerson	12,439	126	2,783	4.5	98.7	88	1,994	261		7.6	15.8	5
4	Jim Brown J. Brown	12,312	118	2,359	5.2	104.3	106	2,499	262		9.5	21.2	20
5	Curtis Martin C. Martin	11,669	140	2,927	4.0	83.4	73	2,966	419	330	7.1	21.2	8
6	Walter Payton W. Payton	11,625	130	2,666	4.4	89.4	78	3,088	328		9.4	23.8	9
7	Jerome Bettis J. Bettis	10,876	136	2,686	4.0	80.0	53	1,220	170	57	7.2	9.0	3
8	Tony Dorsett T. Dorsett	10,832	132	2,441	4.4	82.1	66	2,988	338		8.8	22.6	11
9	Thurman Thomas T. Thomas	10,762	138	2,566	4.2	78.0	62	3,876	397		9.8	28.1	20
10	Eddie George E. George	10,441	141	2,865	3.6	74.0	68	2,227	268	269	8.3	15.8	10
11	Marshall Faulk M. Faulk	10,395	135	2,367	4.4	77.0	87	5,984	628	422	9.5	44.3	33
12	Ricky Watters R. Watters	10,325	139	2,550	4.0	74.3	77	4,141	456	154	9.1	29.8	13
13	O.J. Simpson	10,183	112	2,123	4.8	90.9	57	1,924	175		11.0	17.2	12
14	Corey Dillon C. Dillon	9,696	122	2,210	4.4	79.5	57	1,585	207	236	7.7	13.0	6
15	Earl Campbell E. Campbell	9,407	115	2,187	4.3	81.8	74	806	121		6.7	7.0	0
16	Franco Harris F. Harris	9,352	124	2,220	4.2	75.4	76	1,507	204		7.4	12.2	6
17	Jim Taylor J. Taylor	8,207	115	1,811	4.5	71.4	81	1,505	187		8.0	13.1	10
18	Ottis Anderson O. Anderson	8,086	111	1,884	4.3	72.8	47	2,557	310		8.2	23.0	5
19	Herschel Walker H. Walker	7,996	139	1,907	4.2	57.5	60	4,387	460		9.5	31.6	18
20	Marcus Allen M. Allen	7,957	121	1,960	4.1	65.8	75	3,850	403		9.6	31.8	17
21	Terry Allen T. Allen	7,956	119	1,984	4.0	66.9	70	1,533	187	20	8.2	12.9	6
22	Gerald Riggs G. Riggs	7,940	113	1,911	4.2	70.3	58	1,511	200		7.6	13.4	0
23	Garrison Hearst G. Hearst	7,885	119	1,811	4.4	66.3	29	2,045	227	162	9.0	17.2	9
24	Edgerrin James E. James	7,720	81	1,828	4.2	95.3	51	2,502	312	414	8.0	30.9	10
25	Roger Craig R. Craig	7,654	136	1,848	4.1	56.3	51	4,578	525		8.7	33.7	16

Unlock 2x data

StatMuse has season-level data for rushing yards going back to the 1932 season.

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More Lions Stats

Team Leaders

PASS

1,214

Goff

RUSH

353

Gibbs

REC

303

St. Brown

Team Rankings

PPG

29.8

4th

OPP PPG

31.8

31st

RUSH YDS/G

102.0

20th

PASS YDS/G

303.5

2nd

2026 Division Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT
Vikings	4	0	1.000
Bears	3	1	.750
Packers	2	2	.500
Lions	2	2	.500

Schedule

DATE	MATCHUP			TIME (ET)
Sun 10/11	DET	@	ARI	4:25 PM
Sun 10/25	GB	@	DET	4:25 PM
Sun 11/1	MIN	@	DET	1:00 PM
Sun 11/8	DET	@	MIA	1:00 PM
Sun 11/15	NE	@	DET	9:30 AM

Last Game

Lions

2 - 2

Final

Panthers

2 - 2

Sun 4 Oct 2026

NFL 2026 Leaders

Pass Yards Leaders

1,381

Prescott

1,268

Young

1,214

Goff

Rush Yards Leaders

537

Walker

494

Robinson

421

Cook

Rec Yards Leaders

507

Lamb

491

Olave

481

Smith-Njigba

Pass TD Leaders

11

Purdy

11

Cousins

9

Shough

Rush TD Leaders

7

Allen

7

Henry

6

Williams

Rec TD Leaders

6

Smith-Njigba

5

St. Brown

4

Watson

QB Rating Leaders

126.2

Purdy

119.6

Jackson

111.2

Lawrence

Sack Leaders

6.0

Rousseau

5.5

Turner

4.5

Anderson

NFL 2026 Rankings

PPG Rankings

31.8

30.5

30.3

29.8

29.5

29.0

Opp PPG Rankings

12.8

13.3

16.0

16.3

18.3

19.3

Total Yards Rankings

429.0

417.0

412.0

405.8

395.0

389.3

Rush Yards Rankings

196.3

181.0

162.3

153.5

139.0

137.3

Pass Yards Rankings

317.0

303.5

300.8

300.5

292.8

285.3

Sack Leaders

16.0

15.0

14.0

12.0

NFL Fantasy 2026

Fantasy RB Rankings

98.1

Walker

94

Gibbs

91.4

Robinson

Fantasy WR Rankings

84.7

Smith-Njigba

76.1

Lamb

60.3

St. Brown

Fantasy TE Rankings

48.4

Kittle

39.2

Johnson

36.6

Kelce

Fantasy K Rankings

54

Shrader

52

Reichard

48

McLaughlin

NFL 2026 Betting

Best Record ATS

4-0

3-1

Worst Record ATS

0-4

0-3-1

1-4

1-3

NFL 2026 Standings

NFC East	W	L	T	PCT
Giants	3	1	0	.750
Eagles	2	2	0	.500
Cowboys	2	3	0	.400
Commanders	1	3	0	.250
NFC North	W	L	T	PCT
Vikings	4	0	0	1.000
Bears	3	1	0	.750
Lions	2	2	0	.500
Packers	2	2	0	.500
NFC South	W	L	T	PCT
Panthers	2	2	0	.500
Falcons	2	2	0	.500
Saints	1	3	0	.250
Buccaneers	1	4	0	.200
NFC West	W	L	T	PCT
49ers	4	0	0	1.000
Seahawks	3	1	0	.750
Rams	2	2	0	.500
Cardinals	1	3	0	.250

AFC East	W	L	T	PCT
Bills	3	1	0	.750
Patriots	2	2	0	.500
Jets	1	3	0	.250
Dolphins	0	4	0	.000
AFC North	W	L	T	PCT
Browns	3	1	0	.750
Ravens	3	1	0	.750
Steelers	2	2	0	.500
Bengals	2	2	0	.500
AFC South	W	L	T	PCT
Jaguars	3	1	0	.750
Colts	2	2	0	.500
Titans	0	4	0	.000
Texans	0	4	0	.000
AFC West	W	L	T	PCT
Chiefs	4	0	0	1.000
Raiders	3	1	0	.750
Broncos	2	2	0	.500
Chargers	0	4	0	.000